Films of 2012

The best movies of the past year. Watch them all. Don't watch Jack & Jill.

1. Skyfall

As a nervous public entered cinemas in record numbers to see the long-awaited return of James Bond, fingernails were being eliminated with the frequency of anonymous henchmen. Thankfully, though, Sam Mendes’ tale of revenge, soul-seeking and insanity turned out to be one of the best Bond films yet.

2. The Dark Knight Rises

The third film in a trilogy is always a tough one; you have to wrap up six hours of entertainment spread out over seven years and please a quasi-religious following. Unsurprisingly, Chris Nolan did it with aplomb.

3. Amour

You’re not awaiting chuckles with a Michael Haneke film, but you are expecting genius, and his study of love is just that. Its portrayal of an elderly Parisian couple gnaws at your heartstrings and lingers with you for weeks.

4. The Raid

You don’t expect a cinematic ‘game-changer’ to be from Indonesia. You really don’t expect that film to be directed by a Welshman. An action-thriller proving you should expect the unexpected.

5. Argo

It’s now three belters for Ben Affleck as a director. The true story of a political extraction leaves the back of your seat unemployed.

6. Ted

The sophisticate in you will deplore the crassness of Seth MacFarlane’s film, but frankly that sophisticate can go f*ck himself and let the rest of us enjoy the year’s best comedy.

7. Avengers Assemble

It took a brave man to weave several successful franchises into one film, and a smart one to do it well. Joss Whedon deserves a medal.

8. The Imposter

Belief-beggaring docu-drama charting the story of a brown-eyed 23-year-old who convinced a family he was their missing blue-eyed 16-year-old son.

9. Looper

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis playing the same time-travelling assassin at different stages in his life? We were sold before we saw it.

10. Sightseers

Caravanning-meets-serial killing road movie: this is insane in the mundane.